


off the record

by callunavulgari



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28050963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callunavulgari/pseuds/callunavulgari
Summary: “So, Your Majesty’s a mind reader,” Dino says, eyeing the prince up and down. He smiles charmingly and leans in closer, making his voice go slow and syrupy sweet when he asks, “Well, what am I thinking?”
Relationships: Dino Ghiranze/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	off the record

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the majority of this in one sitting in September of 2018. I didn't post it, because I had vague ideas of continuing - maybe adding a few more scenes and upping the rating a bit. But I uh, didn't. So! I cleaned it up a bit, added something resembling an ending and am just posting it as is. Merry holidays, folks.

“So, Your Majesty’s a mind reader,” Dino says, eyeing the prince up and down. He smiles charmingly and leans in closer, making his voice go slow and syrupy sweet when he asks, “Well, what am I thinking?”

And Dino? Dino is thinking that he likes the clean lines of the prince’s face, the sharp jut of those royal cheekbones of his camouflaging the slightest hint of baby fat still clinging to his cheeks. There’s something honest about him, how he doesn’t even hide what he's feeling. As if to prove that point, Noctis rolls his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“You want more ore,” he deadpans, his eyes dark and accusing.

Dino isn’t thinking about more ore. Well, he is, for sure, because there’s a part of his brain that’s always set on clawing his way out of this hellhole of a job he’d sunk straight into when he was young and stupid. Mostly though, he’s thinking about the way the prince’s t-shirt clings to his frame. His shoulderblades are sharp and his hips are narrow, and everything about him seems like it would be smooth to the touch. 

And Dino really, _really_ wants to touch.

He laughs it off though, and when the prince and his bunch of misfits are just a fading silhouette on the horizon, he drops his head into his hands and sighs. Coctura, who has managed to sidle up behind him, eyes him with amusement.

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” she asks, and pats him on the back when he gargles unintelligibly in reply. “You’ll never get into the prince’s pants that way. You know that, right?”

“I know.” He sighs, watching the waves lap against the dock. 

“Blackmail doesn’t exactly lead to romance,” she adds, as if he didn’t already know that.

“I know.”

  
He doesn’t see Prince Noctis for weeks afterwards, and when he does, the kid nearly bowls him over.

“Woah, your majesty,” Dino gasps once he’s regained his balance, deftly catching Noctis around the waist and reeling him in before he can go tumbling into the water. “Watch where you’re going there.”

Noctis blinks at him for a long moment, his gaze uncomprehending. After a moment, his shoulders slump. “Oh,” he says, dejectedly. “It’s you.”

“Ouch.” Dino laughs, slapping a hand over his heart. Damn. The kid wasn’t exactly the polite sort on the best days, but that was downright rude. “I think I’m a little offended.”

Noctis shrugs, his eyes bright. He’s twitching a little, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. There’s a smudge of dirt up the side of his cheek and the beginnings of stubble darkening his chin. He isn’t even _looking_ at Dino, scanning the crowd around him like he plans on getting attacked at any moment. He tugs at Dino’s grip a bit, unconsciously, like his body doesn’t like the idea of being held still.

“Hey,” Dino says, and then again, louder, when Noctis doesn’t seem to hear. “I said, _hey_. Kid. Prince Noctis. Look at me, would you?”

Finally, Noctis settles, his eyes dropping back down to Dino’s. He shudders, and after a minute, he stops struggling. He looks at Dino, and demands flatly, “What.”

Dino licks his lips. When it becomes apparent that Noctis isn’t going to go bolting away the second he lets go of him, he slides his hands away from Noctis’s hips. “Just wanted to see if you was all right. You looked a little spooked there.”

Noctis looks at him for a moment, and then nods, his shoulders relaxing in increments. “Spooked is a good word for it.”

Dino shifts his weight a bit, tucking his hands into his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a couple curious guests glancing their way. Probably looking for entertainment, the vultures. 

“All right, look. I’ve got a room here. How bout you come back to it for a bit.” He winces, holding out his hands when Noctis shoots him a black glare. “No funny stuff! Scout’s honor. You just look like you could use a break for a bit, that’s all.” He eyes him, then wrinkles his nose. “Maybe a shower too.”

When Noctis’s glare darkens, Dino shrugs at him. “Sorry, prince. You stink.”

The glare falters after a minute, and when Noctis glances around again, he seems to become aware of all the people watching them. As Dino watches, his shoulders draw back. He isn’t looking at Dino, but he’s hesitating, indecision clear as day on his face. Dino just needs to sweeten the pot.

“Look, I’ll even tell Coctura to whip us something up to eat. You can shower, eat, maybe catch a few hours of sleep if I’m feeling generous.” He claps a hand on Noctis’s shoulder and gently digs his fingers into the tense muscle he finds there. Noctis groans, his eyes slipping closed, and Dino- look, Dino isn’t a saint here. The kid has the face of an angel and the ass of a high-end stripper. So he maybe isn’t thinking very clearly when he leans in, until his breath is ghosting along the shell of Noctis’s perfect, princely ear, and breathes, “And trust me, I can be _very_ generous.”

Noctis slants his eyes open and looks at him. He’s got his back up against the flimsy guardrail, and is all but slumped against Dino’s side. His eyes are hazy and very, very dark. As Dino watches, he licks his lips. “What happened to no funny business?”

Dino shrugs. “Not gonna force you, kid. The room is on the table, regardless. My bed, though, that’s optional.”

Noctis hesitates again, chewing on his lip. “What if I want your bed, but I don’t want you in it?”

Dino winces. “Sure, if that’s what you want. My room's got a couch.”

Noctis is still looking at him like he expects Dino to introduce a new variable into the equation. Which Dino guesses is probably fair since the first time he met the kid, he blackmailed him for all he was worth. Regretfully, he drops his hand away from Noctis’s shoulder.

“Look,” he says, scrubbing a frustrated hand through his hair. “Take the room, all right? Just get some sleep before you fall over. I don’t even have to be there. I’ll hang around the bar for a bit. Then when you’re all rested up, you can go right back to fighting the bad guys.”

He goes to turn away, but Noctis hooks a hand around his wrist before he can get very far. Noctis’s jaw is set, his eyes a stubborn glint of black behind his wayward bangs, and for the first time, Dino can see an echo of the sort of king he’d be.

“That won’t be necessary,” Noctis tells him, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards into something resembling a smile. He presses forward a bit, just enough to crowd into Dino’s space. His mouth is cool when he sets it against Dino’s hammering pulse. “Just promise that tonight is off the record?”

He’s looking up at Dino through his lashes, his mouth red and wet, his eyes so stupidly pretty. Of course tonight's off the damn record. Every night he wants can be off the goddamn record. Dino’s mouth is dry though, and most of his mind is busy sorting through the fact that Noctis is _touching_ him, so he just nods.

Noctis’s smile widens. He gestures broadly. “Lead the way, then.”


End file.
